This would have demanded that anyone hawking pornography or “offensive” material over the Internet would require a customer to prove by credit card, Social Security number and adult identification that they are indeed of a legal age.

The bill was passed almost unanimously by Congress, but promptly knocked down by the courts after an appeal by that ever-caring organization, the American Civil Liberties Union.

Jason Oxman of the Federal Communications Commission said: “We are obviously concerned but the Internet does not fall under our administration.

“Frankly, Congress hasn’t had much luck with the courts in their efforts to restrict the Internet.”

Kiddie-porn purveyors have Web sites and some have gone to jail in their evil importuning of innocents.

But the punishment so often comes, as we have seen in recent years, only after a young innocent has been exposed to a dastardly act.

Murders and rapes have been traced to the Internet.

And still we say nothing can be done?

We have seen amazing stories of hackers as young as 13 breaking into top-secret Pentagon files.

In the true spirit of “to catch a thief,” let’s get these hackers, employ them legitimately, use them to trace back to the evil for the purposes of prosecution.

Sure, kids could go to libraries and learn how to make bombs, or buy copies of Screw magazine if pornography is their bent. But that takes effort. It takes movement and a purchase.

If Bill Clinton, as he did this week, advocated making the purchase of guns more difficult with the caveat, “It won’t stop all gun violence,” why can’t we make it more difficult for kids to learn how to make a bomb, to buy an illegal gun, to fall victim to vipers who would prey on kids?

I see nothing that would impede freedom of expression and speech by restricting instructions of destruction to those of voting age.

I’m continually confused by freedom of speech.

You can’t yell “fire” in a crowded theater – and kids should not be able to learn how to build a bomb with the click of a mouse.